Indiana men’s basketball coaching search: Names to know

Brad Stevens by Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images. Dusty May by Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images. Ben McCollum by Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images.

Who to keep an eye on for the Indiana men’s basketball job opening this offseason.

The Indiana men’s basketball job is open for 2025-26 with recent news of the program reportedly parting ways with Mike Woodson.

Four years after Woodson’s hiring and eight after Archie Miller arrived in Bloomington, the job will change hands yet again. It’s hard to emphasize just how important it is for this Indiana administration to get this pick right.

After two straight whiffs and the highs and lows of the Tom Crean era, can someone finally find consistent success in Bloomington?

Here’s a list of names to keep in mind for the opening:

Brad Stevens – President of Basketball Operations, Boston Celtics

The name you were all waiting for. We even covered this one separately.

Look, far fetched as it is, Brad Stevens’ name is getting brought up as long as the Indiana job is open. It happened in 2017. It happened in 2021. It’ll happen this year.

Will Indiana take a real swing at Stevens? We elaborated in the above article, but in the short, almost certainly. Will that be successful? It hasn’t been before, so.

Dusty May – Head Coach, Michigan

The other name you’ve probably been waiting for.

Dusty May, a native of the state, Indiana grad and former manager for the program under Bob Knight, is also gonna get plenty of attention for the job. He already got his fair share the past two seasons while building up FAU.

Does his being at Michigan change that? Maybe. The call to come home has gotten many coaches to make not too dissimilar moves. Roy Williams went from Kansas to UNC. Jeff Brohm went from Purdue to Louisville.

Josh Schertz – Head Coach, Saint Louis

Schertz, now the head coach at Saint Louis, very nearly took Indiana State to the NCAA Tournament. By some measures the Sycamores probably should’ve been in last year’s field, but that’s a different argument for a different article.

He proved he can do it at a relatively difficult program to win at, particularly with his modern, entertaining offensive scheme. Would he be interested in a return to the Hoosier state?

TJ Otzelberger – Head Coach, Iowa State

Do not hold your breath here.

I think Otz’s name will come up here and there, but I’m not sure I can see him leaving Ames. He’s pretty firmly entrenched there.

Chris Collins – Head Coach, Northwestern

Collins has found some level of consistent success at one of the toughest programs to win at in the Big Ten and is the only coach in Northwestern’s history to take the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament, having done so three times.

Is that enough to earn a look for the Indiana job? Maybe, but I’m not sure how high he’d be on the list and if the job would get to him before someone else said yes.

Mark Byington – Head Coach, Vanderbilt

Could Indiana double dip on James Madison coaches? Byington led the Dukes to an upset win at Michigan State last season before taking them all the way to the NCAA Tournament. That led him to the Vandy job, where he has the Commodores performing admirably in the best conference in the country.

Billy Donovan – Head Coach, Chicago Bulls

Another long shot.

The Bulls look to be in some sort of weird “rebuild that isn’t” stage. Is that something Donovan is interested in? Could Indiana convince the former two-time NCAA champion coach to abandon this NBA season for Bloomington?

Unlikely, unless you’re prone to believe real estate rumors on message boards.

Grant McCasland – Head Coach, Texas Tech

This is another interesting one.

McCasland, an easy hire for Texas Tech after his work at North Texas, has the Red Raiders program humming again with strong play on both ends of the floor and overall favorable metrics.

He’d likely succeed at Indiana, but would he budge? McCasland is from Texas and has been in coaching since 2001. The one time he wasn’t working in Texas was a one-year stint at Arkansas State that led him to… North Texas.

Micah Shrewsberry – Head Coach, Notre Dame

Here’s an interesting one. If you can’t have Stevens… why not Shrewsberry?

Shrewsberry is another in-state guy with experience working under both Stevens and Matt Painter before taking over his own high-major program at Penn State. He had the Nittany Lions dancing in year two and even scored a tournament win in the process.

That led him to Notre Dame where he’s been… lackluster. Would Indiana be interested anyway for his X’s and O’s acumen?

Ben McCollum – Head Coach, Drake

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 18 Drake at Indiana State

Here’s a pretty decent swing that also isn’t.

McCollum, an Iowa native familiar with The Midwest, has won four national championships… at the Division-II level. This year at Drake is his first crack at a Division-I coaching gig, but he has the Bulldogs looking great.

There could be something of a Curt Cignetti aura to McCollum, who is 410-93 overall as a head coach. Indiana would be taking a swing to see if he can do it at the highest level, but it could prove worth it.

Darian DeVries – Head Coach, West Virginia

What about the guy who left Drake to make way for McCollum?

DeVries turned his own success at Drake into the head coaching gig at West Virginia. The Mountaineers already have a statement resume win against Kansas AT Allen Fieldhouse. That’s a tough one to get.

Chris Beard – Head Coach, Ole Miss

Look, you’re gonna hear Beard’s name. You already have. He has the Bob Knight connection through Texas Tech and is probably looking to get back to a top-tier job in college hoops.

But consider… Indiana probably could’ve had Beard in 2021 when he was at Texas Tech. That phone call didn’t come and Beard instead ended up at Texas. He lost that job after being arrested on a third-degree felony charge of assault against a family member for strangulation.

The charges against Beard were ultimately dismissed based on evidence and his fiancée’s wish not to prosecute.

Beard is probably too risky of a move, even as a winner on the court.

Will Wade – Head Coach, McNeese

Here’s a fun one.

Wade, cast away from LSU following a recruiting scandal, has since re-emerged at McNeese State. He has McNeese looking good in the metrics and cruising in the Southland.

It’s clear Wade can coach ball. Would Indiana be willing to look past his past recruiting violations for a shot at him bringing success?